REGIONAL INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE
LAND GOVERNANCE:
ASIA PACIFIC
Danilo Antonio, UN-Habitat/GLTN, Nairobi
Donovan Storey, Sustainable Urban Development Section, UNESCAP, Bangkok
1. The Asia-Pacific region
•
•
•
•
•
Covering 30% of total land mass
• Stretching from Turkey to Kiribati
and from Russia to New Zealand
Home to 2/3 of world’s population
An economic success story led by urban sector
Increasing level of urbanization
• 2011: 13 of world’s 23 megacities
• 2025: 7 of world’s 10 largest cities
• Yet, largest urban population & fastest growth in smallmedium size towns & cities
Some challenges:
• Economic transformation with growing inequality: success
underpinned by fragility
• Vulnerability, risk & exposure: Asia-Pacific most affected by
natural disasters
• Environmental degradation & declining quality of growth –
rural & urban: From deforestation, pollution to urban sprawl
2. The importance and benefits of land governance
Land Governance: key to continued economic growth
Challenges
•
Growing population, finite land resources
•
Land conflicts and disputes
Benefits
• Land as engine for food security and economic growth
• Land as investment opportunity for local governments
Land Governance: key to social equity
Challenges
•
Landlessness; limited access to land and related resources by vulnerable groups
•
Insecurity of tenure
Benefits
•
Empowerment, equality, peace building
•
Land productivity and efficiency
Land Governance: key to sustainable urbanization, climate change adaptation, disaster
risk reduction and resilience
Challenges
•
•
•
Rapid urbanization, informal settlements
Settlements and livelihoods in Low Elevation Coastal Zones
Exposure to disasters and risks
Benefits
•
Sustainable urban settlements
•
Risk mitigation and climate change adaptation
3. Key stakeholder roles in land governance
Priorities
Government
•
•
•
•
Clear policies and laws
Strong institutions
Land reforms
Service delivery
Private Sector
•
•
•
Predictable business
environment
Clear land tenure and
property rights
Transparent processes
Civil Society
•
•
•
Pro-poor reforms
Service delivery
Access to land and tenure
security
Who Benefits
Who Loses
•
•
•
General public
Government institutions
Private investors
• Opaque systems
• Intermediaries
• Land ‘professionals’ &
speculators
•
•
•
Country (economic growth)
Government (national and
local)
General public
• Opaque systems
• Intermediaries
• Land ‘professionals’ &
speculators
•
•
•
•
Poor segments of society
General public
Government
Private Sector
• Landed class
• Powerful elites
4. Regional quick wins and benefits from other
regional experiences
Quick Wins:
1. Regional platform (Land Tenure Initiative in the Asia-Pacific)
2. Knowledge management and sharing
3. Partnership building
4. Regionalizing global agenda and tools
Lessons:
1. Improvements through African Land Policy Initiative
2. Involvement of regional institutions, partners and
intergovernmental organizations
3. Joint programming and resource mobilization
4. Advocacy campaign
5. Regional experience and practices for improving
land governance
Experiences:
1. Land administration reforms
2. Improvement and equality in access to land, including
vulnerable groups, women and indigenous peoples
3. Regional platforms and partnerships
Practices:
1. Strengthening land governance institutions
2. Establishing inclusive laws and policies
3. Digitalizing land records
4. Enabling strong civil society groups
6. Key indicators to measure progress in improving
land governance
Increased number of population with secure tenure
Why relevant
•
Tenure security particularly by women, indigenous peoples, informal settlers, small
landholders will contribute to food security, poverty reduction, economic progress
and sustainable urbanization
How to measure
•
No. of people who received tenure security (not only title deeds)
Improved transparency in land deals and transactions
Why relevant
•
Large scale land acquisitions and transactions can negatively impact a large
number of poor people and can create mistrust and conflict
How to measure
•
•
No. of accessible reports on public and private large-scale transactions
Community/public consultation
Stronger governmental focus on land and climate change issues
Why relevant
•
Most countries in the region are affected by climate change and natural disasters.
Land related policies and programmes can address these challenges and minimize
vulnerability
How to measure
•
No. of land policies, programmes and initiatives that include/mainstream climate
change adaptation and mitigation
7. Regional Initiative (I)
Land Tenure Initiative in the Asia-Pacific (I)
• Initiated by UN-Habitat, UNESCAP and other partners in 2013
• Objectives:
• Provide ‘platform for the Asia-Pacific’
• Further knowledge and discussion on regional entry points
for land tenure interventions
• Process:
• Increasing interest (and engagement) by partners
• Land Tenure Scoping Study on-going
• EGM in April in Bangkok to set the future action agenda
7. Regional Initiative (II)
Land Tenure Initiative in the Asia-Pacific (II)
• Scoping study reflects interrelationship of securing land tenure
and:
• Land governance and global tools and frameworks
• Climate change, disaster risk and resilience
• Urban growth
• Gender equality
• Marginalized groups
• Non-Western principles (Islamic, customary etc.)
7. Regional Initiative (III)
Land Tenure Initiative in the Asia-Pacific (III)
• Outlook
• Create a strong regional platform in addressing land
tenure issues and knowledge sharing
• Strengthening regional networks and partnerships
• Strengthen coordination of activity in the regional land
sector
• Joint programming and implementation
• Benefits for the region
• Awareness-raising at policy level
• More coherent regional interventions and programmes
• Better coordination and knowledge sharing
• Prevent duplication and promote joint activities
REGIONAL INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE LAND
GOVERNANCE:
ASIA PACIFIC
THANK YOU!
Danilo Antonio, UN-Habitat/GLTN, Nairobi
Donovan Storey, Sustainable Urban Development
Section, UNESCAP, Bangkok